Free and Premium Scaled Agile SSM Dumps Questions Answers

One of the high-performing team characteristics that Team A is demonstrating is using regular feedback loops built into the learning cycle. A high-performing Agile Team is a cross-functional group of people that have everything, and everyone, necessary to produce a working, tested increment of product1 They are empowered, collaborative, aligned, and committed to delivering value to the customers and the organization1 One of the factors that enable a high-performing Agile Team is using regular feedback loops to learn and improve. Feedback loops are mechanisms that provide the team with information about the outcomes and impacts of their actions, as well as the needs and expectations of their customers and stakeholders23 Feedback loops help the team to validate their assumptions, measure their progress, and adjust their plans accordingly23 Feedback loops also help the team to foster a culture of experimentation, innovation, and continuous improvement, as well as to increase customer satisfaction and loyalty23 Team A is using regular feedback loops by releasing the functionality with a method for collecting direct customer feedback. This allows them to learn from the actual users of their product, and to incorporate their feedback into the next iteration of development. This way, they can deliver value faster and more effectively, as well as to enhance the quality and usability of their product4 

In SAFe®, the Iteration Review is the event where the Agile Team measures and demonstrates the outcome of the iteration. The team reviews the completed work, compares it against the iteration goals, and gathers feedback from stakeholders.

This review allows the team to assess whether the iteration delivered the intended value and identify areas for improvement in future iterations. The focus is on transparency, empirical measurement, and alignment to customer needs.

From SAFe guidance:

“The Iteration Review provides the opportunity for the team to demonstrate the increment, measure progress toward iteration goals, and collect feedback.”

Thus, the correct answer is A. The Iteration Review, as it specifically measures the outcome of the iteration and validates progress.

One of the responsibilities of a Scrum Master/Team Coach is to help the team achieve flow, which is a state of continuous and sustainable delivery of value. They do this by teaching and coaching the team on SAFe Scrum and SAFe Team Kanban practices, such as limiting work in progress, visualizing work, managing queues, and reducing batch sizes. They also help identify and eliminate impediments and bottlenecks that hinder the team’s progress and performance.

One purpose of iteration goals is to align team members to a common purpose and vision. Iteration goals are a high-level summary of the business and technical goals that an Agile Team agrees to accomplish in an iteration. They help the team and the product owner to reach agreement on the business value they intend to deliver, align their work to their team PI objectives, and ground everyone on their shared purpose. Iteration goals also provide transparency and management information, as well as support the coordination and dependency management of the Agile Release Train (ART).

The Innovation and Planning (IP) Iteration is designed to give teams space for innovation, exploration, learning, and improvement, not for continuing regular feature work. When a team misuses the IP Iteration to “catch up” on delivery, it misses the opportunity to experiment, innovate, and explore new ways to deliver solutions more effectively.

This reduces the long-term adaptability and creativity of the team, limiting their ability to introduce process or technical improvements that could increase efficiency in future PIs. The IP Iteration is also a time for the Inspect and Adapt event and PI Planning, both of which are critical to continuous improvement.

From SAFe guidance:

“The IP Iteration provides dedicated time for innovation and planning. Using it for normal work diminishes opportunities to innovate, learn, and explore new approaches.”

Therefore, the correct answer is D. They could lose an opportunity to consider new approaches to Solution delivery.

According to SAFe, empathy is one of the key traits of effective Scrum Masters/Team Coaches. Empathy means displaying an authentic understanding and concern for a team member’s beliefs or feelings. By being empathetic, Scrum Masters/Team Coaches can build trust and rapport with the team, which are essential for people to accept and welcome coaching. Empathy also helps Scrum Masters/Team Coaches to tailor their coaching style and approach to the needs and preferences of each team member.

In SAFe®, the team backlog is the source of work for the Agile Team and includes all the user stories, enablers, and defects that represent potential upcoming work. It is owned and managed by the team, often guided by the Product Owner, who ensures the backlog remains prioritized and ready for iteration planning.

A crucial ongoing activity related to the backlog is refinement (or backlog refinement)—the process of reviewing, clarifying, and breaking down backlog items into smaller, well-understood Stories that are ready for implementation. During this activity, the team collaborates to ensure backlog items have sufficient detail, appropriate acceptance criteria, and relative sizing estimates.

From SAFe guidance:

“The team backlog is the source for stories, enablers, and defects planned in iterations. Teams continuously refine the backlog to ensure upcoming work is well understood and ready for planning.”

Therefore, the correct answer is C. The team backlog is where the team refines possible Stories.

A safe environment for taking risks without fear of embarrassment or criticism is one of the characteristics of a high-performing Agile Team. A high-performing Agile Team is a cross-functional group of people that have everything, and everyone, necessary to produce a working, tested increment of product1 They are empowered, collaborative, aligned, and committed to delivering value to the customers and the organization2 One of the factors that enable a high-performing Agile Team is a safe environment where team members can experiment, learn, and grow without fear of failure, blame, or judgment3 A safe environment fosters a culture of innovation, creativity, and continuous improvement, as well as a sense of psychological safety, trust, and belonging among team members4 Team C is demonstrating this characteristic by creating a new workflow to speed up the testing process, even though it did not work out as expected. The rest of the team was excited to hear what was learned from the failed experiment, rather than being disappointed or critical. This shows that the team values learning over perfection, and supports each other in taking risks and trying new things.

The Team Sync (or Daily Stand-up) in SAFe® is a short, focused, timeboxed event that allows the team to align on progress toward iteration goals, identify impediments, and plan the next 24 hours.

The meeting promotes transparency and collaboration, ensuring that all team members are aware of progress and issues that could affect delivery. It also reinforces self-management by allowing the team to adapt plans daily based on new information.

From SAFe guidance:

“The Team Sync allows team members to align on progress toward iteration goals, discuss impediments, and adjust their plans to stay on track.”

Thus, the correct answer is A. The team aligns on the progress of Iteration Goals, as it captures the event’s primary intent.

Among the five Scrum values — Commitment, Focus, Openness, Respect, and Courage — the value that most directly supports transparency is Openness.

In both Scrum and SAFe®, transparency is a foundational principle of empirical process control. Teams must be open about progress, impediments, challenges, and feedback to allow effective inspection and adaptation. When teams practice openness, trust grows, collaboration deepens, and issues are surfaced early rather than hidden.

The Scrum Guide (2020) states:

“The Scrum Team and its stakeholders are open about the work and the challenges. Openness encourages transparency, inspection, and adaptation.”

Similarly, SAFe encourages openness as part of the Lean-Agile mindset and team culture, ensuring alignment, honesty, and clarity across teams and ARTs.

Thus, the correct answer is B. Openness, as it directly enables transparency and honest collaboration.

An essential coaching technique for Scrum Masters/Team Coaches in SAFe® is asking powerful questions. Instead of providing direct solutions, effective Scrum Masters guide the team toward self-discovery and collaborative problem-solving.

Powerful questions are open-ended, thought-provoking inquiries that stimulate deeper reflection and creative thinking. This approach aligns with the servant-leader mindset, enabling team members to take ownership of their challenges and develop collective accountability.

Examples include:

“What options have we not yet considered?”

“What’s the smallest next step we could take?”

“What’s blocking our progress, and how might we remove it together?”

From SAFe guidance:

“Scrum Masters and Team Coaches enable teams to find their own solutions by asking powerful questions rather than providing answers. This encourages collaboration and fosters a culture of continuous learning.”

Therefore, the correct answer is A. Asking powerful questions, as it directly supports self-management and team empowerment.

One example of Scrum Masters/Team Coaches helping without diminishing the commitment of others is facilitating necessary meetings for the team. Facilitating means providing guidance and support to the team in conducting effective and productive meetings, such as Iteration Planning, Daily Stand-up, Iteration Review, and Iteration Retrospective1 Facilitating does not mean taking over the meeting or making decisions for the team. Rather, it means creating a safe and respectful environment, ensuring clear and shared objectives, encouraging participation and collaboration, managing time and agenda, resolving conflicts and issues, and summarizing outcomes and action items23 By facilitating necessary meetings for the team, Scrum Masters/Team Coaches help the team to achieve their goals, improve their processes, and deliver value to the customers and the organization14 At the same time, they respect and empower the team’s autonomy, self-organization, and self-management, and do not interfere with their commitment or accountability14 

The “C” in the CALMR approach to DevOps stands for culture, which is the foundation of successful DevOps adoption. Culture refers to the values, beliefs, and behaviors that guide the collaboration and alignment of everyone in the value stream. By creating a culture of shared responsibility, teams can manage the tensions caused by differing needs, such as speed, quality, security, and stability. A culture of shared responsibility means that everyone is accountable for the outcomes of their work, and that they work together to deliver value to the customers. It also means that teams respect each other’s roles and expertise, and seek feedback and learning opportunities. A culture of shared responsibility fosters trust, transparency, and continuous improvement, which are essential for DevOps.

In SAFe®, the Inspect and Adapt (I&A) event provides the Agile Release Train (ART) with a structured opportunity to reflect, measure progress, and identify systemic improvements. The Scrum Master/Team Coach (SM/TC) plays a critical role in supporting this event by ensuring that each team’s contribution is backed by meaningful, accurate data.

Providing team data—such as iteration metrics, team velocity, predictability, and performance against objectives—enables evidence-based discussions during the quantitative and qualitative measurement portion of the I&A. This transparency helps identify trends, validate outcomes, and support root cause analysis during the problem-solving workshop.

From SAFe guidance:

“Teams prepare quantitative and qualitative data for the Inspect and Adapt to provide objective insights into their performance and enable continuous improvement discussions.”

Thus, the correct answer is C. Provide team data, as it directly supports the empirical foundation of the I&A event.

One Iteration Retrospective anti-pattern is when the team only brings up issues that are outside of their control to address, such as organizational policies, external dependencies, or stakeholder expectations. This can lead to frustration, helplessness, and cynicism among the team members, as well as a loss of focus on their own improvement opportunities12 

One method a Scrum Master/Team Coach can use to help teams overcome a fear of conflict is to give every team member the opportunity to contribute. Fear of conflict is one of the common dysfunctions of a team, which can result in artificial harmony, lack of trust, and avoidance of issues1 To overcome this fear, the Scrum Master/Team Coach can facilitate a safe and respectful environment where team members can express their opinions, ideas, and concerns without being judged, ignored, or attacked23 Giving every team member the opportunity to contribute can help them feel valued, respected, and heard, as well as foster a culture of collaboration, feedback, and learning45 The Scrum Master/Team Coach can use various techniques to ensure equal participation, such as round-robin, fist of five, dot voting, silent brainstorming, and liberating structures45 By encouraging healthy and constructive conflict, the Scrum Master/Team Coach can help the team improve their performance, creativity, and innovation23

In SAFe®, the Coach Sync (also known as the Scrum of Scrums or SM/TC Sync) is a coordination event for Scrum Masters and Team Coaches within an Agile Release Train (ART). The main purpose of this event is to gain visibility into team progress, discuss impediments, and ensure cross-team alignment.

Facilitated by the Release Train Engineer (RTE), the Coach Sync promotes transparency across the ART by allowing Scrum Masters to share information about iteration status, dependencies, and challenges that may affect other teams. It also serves as a forum for escalating ART-level impediments.

From SAFe guidance:

“The Coach Sync provides Scrum Masters and Team Coaches with visibility into progress and dependencies across teams and enables them to coordinate and remove impediments at the ART level.”

Thus, the correct answer is C. To gain visibility into progress, as this captures the event’s primary purpose.

One of the best practices Scrum Masters/Team Coaches can use to run successful meetings is to leave meetings with clear action items. Action items are specific tasks that need to be done by a certain person or group by a certain deadline. They help the team to follow up on the outcomes of the meeting, track progress, and ensure accountability. Action items should be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Scrum Masters/Team Coaches should document and communicate the action items to the team and stakeholders, and review them in the next meeting.

The Innovation and Planning (IP) Iteration in SAFe® serves a critical purpose—it provides time for innovation, learning, improvement, and preparation for the next Program Increment (PI).

When teams attempt to use the IP Iteration to continue their standard work, they lose the opportunity to rest, reflect, and prepare effectively for future planning. One of the key intended uses of the IP Iteration is to prepare for PI Planning, which includes reviewing objectives, refining backlogs, and ensuring readiness for upcoming work.

From SAFe guidance:

“The IP Iteration provides teams with the opportunity to innovate, improve, and prepare for the upcoming PI Planning event.”

Therefore, the correct answer is D. The team can prepare for PI planning, as this aligns with one of the primary goals of the IP Iteration.

The Iteration Retrospective is a core event in SAFe® and Scrum where the team reflects on the past iteration to identify ways to improve processes, collaboration, and effectiveness. One of the most powerful ways to transform retrospective insights into action is by writing improvement Stories.

An improvement Story is treated like any other backlog item—it is estimated, prioritized, and included in the upcoming iteration backlog to ensure continuous, measurable progress toward higher performance. This approach aligns with SAFe’s focus on Relentless Improvement, a pillar of the SAFe House of Lean.

From SAFe guidance:

“Teams record improvement items as stories and include them in the next iteration backlog. This ensures that improvement work receives visibility, commitment, and action.”

Thus, the correct answer is B. By writing improvement Stories, as it ensures improvement actions are tangible, trackable, and continuously implemented.

According to SAFe, one output of a successful Iteration Retrospective is the creation of a few improvement Stories that enter the Team Backlog for the next iteration. These stories reflect the team’s agreement on what they can do better in terms of their process, practices, and performance. The improvement stories are visible and prioritized along with the other stories in the backlog. They help the team implement the concept of relentless improvement, which is one of the core values of SAFe.

An effective Scrum Master/Team Coach (SM/TC) not only supports the team’s daily operations but also helps them grow and improve over time. Thinking beyond the day-to-day means guiding the team toward strategic improvement and long-term effectiveness, not just tactical task completion.

By helping the team prioritize improvement activities to ensure progress, Scrum Masters promote a mindset of continuous learning and adaptation. This aligns with SAFe’s Relentless Improvement pillar, encouraging the team to use metrics, feedback, and retrospectives to drive sustained enhancement in flow, quality, and collaboration.

From SAFe guidance:

“Scrum Masters help teams improve continuously by identifying, prioritizing, and pursuing improvement opportunities that enhance value delivery and team performance.”

Thus, the correct answer is D. Help the team prioritize improvement activities to ensure progress, as this demonstrates strategic thinking beyond daily coordination.

In the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe®), a key element of building a high-performing Agile Team is fostering T-shaped skills among team members. T-shaped skills refer to individuals who have deep expertise in one area (the vertical bar of the "T") but also possess the ability and willingness to collaborate across disciplines (the horizontal bar of the "T").

Encouraging team members to acquire T-shaped skills increases flexibility, improves collaboration, and reduces bottlenecks since work is not blocked by specialization. It also strengthens the team’s ability to self-organize and deliver value collectively, rather than relying on handoffs.

From SAFe guidance:

“High-performing Agile Teams are built on cross-functional, self-managing individuals who have or develop T-shaped skills, enabling them to collaborate effectively and support each other’s work.”

Therefore, the correct answer is A. Encourage team members to acquire T-shaped skills, as it directly contributes to stronger, more adaptive, and collaborative teams.

One way to ensure a team is holding successful iteration reviews and demos is to have the team demo working, tested system components that meet the definition of done (DoD). This shows the team’s progress and value delivery, and allows them to receive feedback from the product owner and other stakeholders. The team should minimize the use of slides and the preparation time for the demos, and focus on the solution instead of the presentation. The team should also discuss the impact of the current solution on the nonfunctional requirements (NFRs) and identify any risks or impediments.

According to the SAFe® Iteration Review process (adapted from Scrum’s Sprint Review), the primary goal is to inspect the completed increment and gather feedback from stakeholders. This event focuses on demonstrating working software or system increments produced during the iteration. The team and stakeholders then discuss what was accomplished, any changes in priorities, and what might be done next to ensure continuous alignment with business needs.

The Iteration Review is not about planning or adding new acceptance criteria (which happens during refinement) nor about demonstrating work from a previous PI. Instead, it’s about validating the current increment and using feedback to adjust the upcoming work accordingly.

From SAFe guidance:

“The Iteration Review provides a mechanism for the team to demonstrate the increment to stakeholders and collect feedback. This feedback helps ensure that the team continues to deliver value aligned with customer needs.”

Therefore, the correct answer is D. To receive feedback on the increment, as this is the key objective of the Iteration Review.

The Innovation and Planning (IP) Iteration is a key element in SAFe®’s Program Increment (PI) cadence. It provides dedicated time for innovation, exploration, education, and infrastructure improvements, as well as PI planning and inspect-and-adapt activities.

When teams attempt to use the IP Iteration for their “usual work,” they miss opportunities for reflection, learning, and systemic improvement. Using it as intended promotes relentless improvement and allows teams to invest in long-term value creation.

From SAFe guidance:

“The IP Iteration provides teams with time to innovate, improve infrastructure, and plan for the next PI. It ensures a sustainable pace and supports continuous improvement.”

Therefore, the correct answer is A. There will be time for infrastructure improvements, as this is one of the primary intended uses of the IP Iteration.